ECON-2301 Principles of Macroeconomics

Mehrdad Setayesh

Credit Fall 2026

Section(s)

ECON-2301-072 (38089)
LEC DIL ONL DIL

Course Requirements

This is an online class. No Face-2-Face classes. All exams and assignments must be submitted online via the Blackboard Ultra.

ECON 2301 – 38089 / 072 - Principles of Macroeconomics

Instructor: Mehrdad Setayesh

Fall 2026 (12-Week Session): September 21, 2026 – December 13, 2026

Class Time: No Face-2-Face classes, only Live Zoom Calls for office hours.

Office Hours: Tues & Thur, 6:15 PM – 6:45 PM;

Office Location: Only Live Zoom Calls.

E-mail: msetayes@austincc.edu; Home Phone No.: 512-837-1401

Textbook: The Macro Economy Today, Bradley R. Schiller, McGraw-Hill Irwin Publishing Co., 17th Edition, 2024 Hardbound Rental ISBN: 978-1-265-43990-74; Loose-leaf Purchase ISBN: 978-1-265-41676-8; E-book Access Card ISBN: 9781266662065

GRADE AFTER CURVE

A 90 - 100%

B 80 - 89%

C 65 - 79%

D 50 - 64%

F Below 50%

W Last drop date: Thursday, November 19, 2026

Exams and Special Project: All must be submitted via Blackboard. Exams are not timed nor proctored. Based on honor system.

Mid-Term 1 Due Friday, October 16, 2026) 35% Chapters (1, 1A, 3, 5)

Final Exam Due Friday, December 4, 2026) 35% Chapters (6,7,8,9,9A,10,12,11,13,14,15)

Special Project 1 Due Friday, November 6, 2026) 15% (Answer questions using current Economics data)

Special Project 2 Due Friday, November 20, 2026) 15% (Demand & Supply plus Economic Policy)

Exams consist of 45 ~ 60 questions, mostly multiple choice plus some short answers. They’re directly out of lecture notes. Be sure you understand every term listed under “Review Topics” for each chapter. You can use textbook for additional reference since it has additional graphs and examples for each topic.

Special Project requires access to a computer to download data from the Federal Government’s Website. You can use computer resources at any of ACC’s Student Learning Labs to download data or your own computer. Please refer to Blackboard for step-by-step process on how to download data, examples of what required final data look like and a list of 7 questions to answer. You’ll need to submit all graphs, tables containing data and answers to all 7 questions in one file.

To get the latest updates / requirements, be sure to check “Announcements” Tab in Blackboard and your ACC E-mail Address throughout the semester.

Readings

In addition to the textbook, other reading sources all have been posted to Blackboard. They include lecture notes, handouts, lecture recordings and review topics. Be sure to keep up with all reading materials. Do not wait until the last minute to prepare for each exam. Ask questions, ask questions, and ask questions.

Course Subjects

Basics, Supply & Demand, GDP, National Income Accounting, Unemployment, Inflation, Macro Equilibrium (AD & AS Diagram), Federal Budget, Fiscal Policy, Money & Banking, Monetary Policy, International Economics (International Trade and Finance)

Student Learning Outcomes/Learning Objectives

Students who complete this course will be able to critically evaluate GDP (Ch. 5), unemployment (Ch. 6), and inflation (Ch. 7) data; explain the business cycle and its phases (Ch’s. 9 & 10); manipulate the basic Aggregate Supply, Aggregate Demand model of the macro economy (Ch. 8); explain fiscal policy tools and defend and criticize the usage fiscal policy (Ch’s 12 & 11); describe how a fractional reserve banking system works (Ch. 13); explain monetary policy tools and defend and criticize the usage monetary policy (Ch’s 14 & 15).